Supreme Commander (113 page)

Eisenhower was by nature a modest man. He knew he had been decisive when he had to be, that he had been able to build an effective organization and hold the alliance together, that he was an accomplished diplomat, that he had proven himself as a soldier, especially during the Bulge and the Rhineland battles. But he had been heard to say that these were the tasks he had been trained for, as had all other senior officers in the U. S. Army, and it was to be expected that he would do them well.

When Eisenhower talked about the root causes of his personal success, he usually spoke immediately not of himself but of three men, Walter B. Smith, Omar N. Bradley, and George C. Marshall. Smith had been at his side since the late summer of 1942, the driving force behind AFHQ and SHAEF, the man who made the staff function. Smith did more than build and run the staff, too, although God knew that was essential. It was Smith, not the civilian representatives at AFHQ and SHAEF, to whom Eisenhower turned for guidance through the tortuous maze of French and Italian politics, for advice in dealing with field subordinates, for help in composing an answer to a Churchill demand. Eisenhower thought him the perfect chief of staff.
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Bradley had joined up in the spring of 1943. In Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, at the Bulge, crossing the Rhine, overrunning Germany, he had always been the man Eisenhower could turn to, the one he trusted implicitly, the general who never let him down. Eisenhower thought Bradley was the best field soldier America produced, a man without whom the plans, no matter how good, would not have worked.

Most of all, there was Marshall. The Chief of Staff had stood like a rock through crisis after crisis. When criticism of the Darlan deal
mounted, it was Marshall who had protected Eisenhower. During the long, disappointing Tunisian winter, Marshall was the one who gave Eisenhower the encouragement he needed, sent him the generals he wanted, saw that AFHQ got the trucks and reinforcements it had to have. When the Patton slapping incident threatened to deprive Eisenhower of one of his best tactical commanders, Marshall arranged matters so that Eisenhower could keep Patton. During the struggle with the airmen over the Transportation Plan, Marshall was the CCS member most responsible for Eisenhower’s success in getting the plan adopted. During the long, arduous argument with Churchill over the invasion of the south of France, Marshall was the one who made it possible for Eisenhower to stand firm by letting him know that he had total support from the JCS.

During the last few months Marshall’s support had, if possible, been even greater. The pressure on Eisenhower to give in to Churchill and make Alexander the single ground commander in Europe was enormous; Marshall, realizing this, did everything in his power to help the Supreme Commander, even to the point of saying he would resign if the organization did not remain as Eisenhower wanted it. Eisenhower had made the plans for fighting the Rhineland battles, for crossing the river, and for overrunning Germany, but he could not have held to them had it not been for Marshall, who protected Eisenhower from Brooke and gave SHAEF all possible support.

Always, when Eisenhower needed him, Marshall was there, giving him everything he needed, by both word and deed. Marshall had been the sustaining force.

A day or so after the war ended, Eisenhower tried to sum up his feelings in a cable to Marshall. “I feel a compulsion to attempt to tell you some things personally that have been very real with me during this war,” Eisenhower began. “Since the day I first went to England, indeed since I first reported to you in the War Department, the strongest weapon that I have always had in my hand was a confident feeling that you trusted my judgment, believed in the objectivity of my approach to any problem and were ready to sustain to the full limit of your resources and your tremendous moral support, anything that we found necessary to undertake.” The knowledge that Marshall stood behind them, Eisenhower said, “had a tremendous effect on my staffs and principal subordinate commanders.”

The conviction that Marshall “had basic faith in this headquarters and would invariably resist interference from any outside sources, has done far more to strengthen my personal position throughout the war
than is realized even by those people who were affected by this circumstance.” Eisenhower said Marshall had an unparalleled place among the leaders and peoples of the alliance, as well as with the American Army. “Our army and our people have never been so deeply indebted to any other soldier.”

As Eisenhower finished dictating, a cable came in from Marshall. “You have completed your mission with the greatest victory in the history of warfare,” Marshall began. “You have commanded with outstanding success the most powerful military force that has ever been assembled. You have met and successfully disposed of every conceivable difficulty incident to varied national interests and international political problems of unprecedented complications.” Eisenhower, Marshall said, had triumphed over inconceivable logistical problems and military obstacles. “Through all of this, since the day of your arrival in England three years ago, you have been selfless in your actions, always sound and tolerant in your judgments and altogether admirable in the courage and wisdom of your military decisions.

“You have made history, great history for the good of mankind and you have stood for all we hope for and admire in an officer of the United States Army. These are my tributes and my personal thanks.”
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It was the highest possible praise from the best possible source, and it had been earned.

Whatever Eisenhower thought of as he waited for notification that the surrender document had been signed, his mood was broken at two forty-one when Smith led Jodl into Eisenhower’s office and announced that the war was over. Eisenhower sternly asked Jodl if he understood the terms and was ready to execute them. Jodl said yes. Eisenhower then warned him that he would be held accountable officially if the terms were violated. Jodl bowed stiffly and left.

Eisenhower gathered the SHAEF officers around him and some photographers took pictures. The Supreme Commander then made a short newsreel and radio recording. When all the newsmen had left, Smith said it was time to send a message to the CCS. Everyone had a try at drafting an appropriate document. “I tried one myself,” Smith later recalled, “and like all my associates, groped for resounding phrases as fitting accolades to the Great Crusade and indicative of our dedication to the great task just completed.” Eisenhower quietly watched and listened. Each draft was more grandiloquent than the last. The Supreme
Commander finally thanked everyone for his efforts, rejected all the proposals, and dictated the message himself.

“The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 0241 local time, May 7, 1945.”
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